Lucky's lost
by greecemexicolatvia
Summary: James loses his best companion-Lucky, his lucky bandanna. Can he find it in time for the show?
1. Chapter 1

James was out by the pool. He was supposed to be doing his math homework, but if Logan found out he hadn't done it yet, he would help him. Okay...Fun fact: Being cool is a synonym for being bored. He was sitting in one of the lounge chair by the pool, using one of the modeling poses he had gotten online. "James!" James looked around. Katie was tangled up in red cat yarn. "What the....." James said. He got off his chair to help Katie. "It was that stupid-OUCH-cat", Katie explained. Bet you ten bucks he has that thing trained to kill me, no lie! "Katie, we all know you have a wild imagination", James laughed ruffling her hair. _Seiriously, that kid is hallucionating! _"You don't believe me", Katie said flatly. "I have an older brother James. I'm not completely clueless." "Hey....I think I hear your mom calling you", James said, cocking his head to the side. "Don't even try to pull that one one me", Katie scowled scornfully. She took out a pink blackberry. "Okay, where did you get that?" James asked. Katie shrugged. "I went on the computer, typed in my mom's credit card number, and ordered it." "Cool", James told her. "but wait, how do you know your mom's credit card number?" "Oh, I took it out of her purse, when she was yelling at Kendall not to watch PG movies", Katie said, rolling her eyes. "Geez, does Kendall teach you this, or..." James wondered. "don't ask", Katie advised.

Four hours later, James got bored with being cool, and went up to his room. Carlos was in there watching terminator. He was saying "cmon...cmon! Crush him! NO!!!! I mean yess...phew..." James rolled his eyes. Being cool and staying by the pool all day were much better than watching that junk. James opened the refrigorator, and got out some ice cream. "Hi James. What have you been doing this morning, afternoon, and part of evening?", Carlos inquired, his eyes glued to the screen. "Being cool", James said, putting on a cool expression. Carlos shook his head. "No way". "I refuse to believe that you were out there for the whole day, just being cool", Carlos informed him. "I just think you were being bored- CRUSH HIM! CRUSH THE EVIL ENEMY!!!!!!!!! "You only think cool is boring because you're not cool", said James, sounding miffed. "I'm cool", Carlos protested. "No Carlos". James said shaking his head, annoyed. "You play hacky sack. You like helmets. You watch terminator. You are not cool"

Carlos was miffed, too. "Well, I bet that you can't go one day without calling someone not cool." "Can too", James said hotly. "JAMES!" came an angry voice. Logan came walking out of his room. "You haven't done your homework! Gustavo's gonna flip! Seriously!" He thrust a pile of books and papers into James's arms. "Camille says that she heard Gustavo planning to check on us tomorrow, to see if we've got all our work done! "Oh, she told you that", smirked James. "Shut up", muttered Logan. "We all know you're in love with the 'method actress queen'", James announced. Logan turned red.

"Besides", said James, shifting his books and papers to the other side. "Homework's not cool." "HAH!", Carlos exclaimed. "I knew you couldn't go a day without saying someone's not cool!"


	2. Chapter 2

James woke up in the morning. He felt slightly guilty about keeping Logan up all night, doing math homework. But homework wasn't cool. Totally not for him. He got out of bed, stretched, and took a shower. Then, he sprayed himself with barracuda deodorant, instead of spray, which gave him scary reactions. He reached automatically for his lucky bandanna-nothing. That was weird. He always left his lucky bandanna on the right side of the sink. He shrugged. Lucky bandanna had to be somewhere. He lifted up his blanket. No Lucky. He looks under his bed, and his desk. No Lucky. Then he looked in the bathtub. No Lucky. He looked behind his door. Big surprise. No Lucky.

"James, breakfast's on the table", Kendall's voice rang through the hall. James sighed, frustrated. He was annoyed. Lucky helped him be lucky. He reluctantly walked into the kitchen. Logan and Carlos were at the table. I finished all your math, Logan announced. He handed the math back to James. "Thanks", muttered James, moodily. "Has anyone seen Lucky?" "Nope," said Logan and Carlos together. Kendall was making pancakes.

Then, suddenly the door burst open, and Camille walked in. She was holding a script in her hand. "Hola", she said, waving her free hand. "Yo vengo de la Republica Dominica. Me acabo de mudar aqui y- "Hello to you too", said James, rolling his eyes. "I have to do a play, where I play a Spanish part", Camille explained. "I literally had to learn the language over night. I really need to get this part."

"What you really need is some meat on your bones, string bean", James said. "What's up with him?", Camille asked Logan. "His bandanna is lost." "Yeah, said Carlos. "So he has to make a big fuss over it." "Shut up and play with your dumb power tools", James exclaimed. "Sure!", Carlos agreed. He dove onto the ground, knocked the couch to the side, and started to open a yellow box with the words DANGER printed on it. Carlos took out what looked like a giant metal drill. "Oh my god, he's got a power tool!", Logan yelled. He jumped up, ran to the bathroom, and locked the door. A second later, they heard him yell "OW! WHY IS THERE A COMB IN THE BATHTUB?! James put on his most innocent face ever.

"We'd better meet Gustavo soon", Kendall announced. Remember, we're performing "Halfway There"tomorrow, live!"

James then felt a jolt in his stomach. He didn't know why at first. Then he remembered. Lucky always helped him at concerts. And if he didn't find Lucky soon-He gulped. He didn't want to find out.


	3. Chapter 3

They took the elevator down to the studio. Gustavo was waiting there looking irritated. He was holding a box of doughnuts in his arms. "Like that's gonna help his weight loss", James muttered to the other three.

"Okay", said Gustavo loudly. "We have to perform live, TOMORROW, and we need to make everything perfect. Sound tests first!" All four of them groaned. Sound tests were the worst. They were the grownup word for 'singing the same lines over and over again, while Gustavo sees which tuning makes you sound perfect.

Once they were behind the glass, and ready to sing, Gustavo said, "Carlos, lose the helmet."

"NEVER!" Carlos screamed, horrified. I need it! It brings me good fortune! Like, like….. "My lucky bandana", James sighed, barely inaudible.

"You know, I would absolutely LOOOOOVE to listen to James talk about bandanas, but WE NEED TO SOUND TEST!!!" Gustavo yelled at the top of his lungs. "Just take off the stupid helmet", Logan hissed at Carlos. "Oh, you wanna feel the wrath of helmet?" Carlos. "You want to feel excruciating pain in your gut??" He ran at Logan, and butted him in the stomach with his head.

"Owwww", moaned Logan, falling down, clutching his stomach. All yes are on Carlos. "What", Carlos asked anxiously. "There can be a little action now and then…."

James shook his head. "Look, I can't sing", he said. I just lost Lucky today, and he always helps me perform. He gives me forty-five points, while my looks give me, like sixty points, and without Lucky, and with them combined, I'll have exactly…"

"One hundred-five points", Logan groaned from the floor. "Exactly", James exclaimed. "So I can't sing." He took his earphones off, threw them on the floor, and irritably walked away. He didn't expect Kendall, Carlos, or Logan to follow, but they did, which made him feel slightly more relaxed, knowing they were on his side. "I know how you feel", Carlos said, clapping James on the shoulder. "I never sing without my helmet." "No Carlos, you really have no idea", James sighed.


	4. Chapter 4

They all entered Kendall's apartment, which he shared with his sister, Katie, and his mom, Mrs. Schmidt. Mrs. Schmidt was in the kitchen, mixing up some cookie batter, and Camille was by the table, rehearsing her lines. When Mrs. Schmidt saw Logan clutching his stomach in pain, and James yelling at Carlos that he would never be cool, she quickly shut off her electric mixer.

"Okay, what did you guys do this time?", Mrs. Schmidt asked apprehensively. "Carlos thought the time was right to butt Logan in the stomach, and I STILL CAN'T FIND LUCKY! James ran around the room searching everywhere, not really caring what he was throwing where.

Carlos, oblivious, was busy dunking his fingers in Mrs. Schmidt's perfectly mixed batter. "Are you gonna be okay?", Camille asked Logan. "He's more okay than me!", said James, throwing a lamp behind him, narrowly missing Carlos's head. "Oh please, I don't need to hear a sob story about a bandanna", Camille scoffed. James chucked a pillow at her. "James!", Mrs. Schmidt scolded reproachfully. "I'll go get an ice pack for Logan. Logan, get on the couch. It helps to curl up."

Mrs. Schmidt may sew 'mommy loves you' on Kendall's shirts, and all that other 'loving mommy' stuff, but she was sort of a lifesaver when it came to messes or injuries.

Mrs. Schmidt bustled off into the kitchen. Carlos got out some cheerios, and poured himself some. Logan didn't seem capable of sitting, or lying down. He sat stiffly. "Why can't you just wear another bandanna", Kendall inquired. "ANOTHER BANDANNA IS NOT LUCKY!!!!" James exploded.

"I wonder if Gustavo's mad at us", said Carlos. Then he switched on the T.V. "No", said Kendall, rolling his eyes. "He won't be mad at all, if we walked out of his studio. "Do you have Scream", Carlos asked Mrs. Schmidt, as she hurried back to Logan. "Heavens, no, why on Earth would I own a movie like that? Just think what kinds of ideas Katie will get in her head?" Mrs. Schmidt said.

"Yeah, like stealing your credit card, and memorizing the number", James murmured. "Do you have Star Wars?" Carlos inquired desperately. "The Blob?" "Carlos, please", said Mrs. Schmidt. "Think about what you just said. Those are grownup movies! How about something more appropriate for your age??? Like Barbie and the Nutcracker!

"Um…. last time I checked, I was a teenager, Carlos muttered, after a minute long gagging session. "Mrs. Schmidt, can you put the ice pack on already?", Logan muttered. "I can", Camille replied, putting the ice pack on his stomach, and grinning. Mrs. Schmidt looked at Logan, then at Camille. Then cleared her thought, and said "Well, I guess I should put the cake batter in the oven."

Just then, Katie entered the room. She motioned for James to follow her, and started walking quietly down the hall. James curiously followed. "Okay", said Katie, as soon as the door had closed. "Your bandanna is stolen. No one cares. Except you and me. I'll help you find it." "What's the catch?", said James suspiciously. "Oh nothing", Katie said. "Nothing at all. And step one for finding Lucky: he couldn't have got lost like that. This is stealing, this is. I have a list of suspects." She took out a clipboard. "Where'd you get that?", James demanded. "Took it off the front desk", Katie said, shrugging. "Now James, we're going to catch whoever's doing this. Mark my words." Kendall's little sister has a devious mind, James thought. It came in handy…but those big brown eyes looked so innocent. How did she always get out of things, by using charm? He felt a little twinge of jealousy. HE had LOTS of charm. He could be innocent. Katie would have to teach him one day.


	5. Chapter 5

Katie showed James her clipboard. On it, printed in Katie's neat little writing, was her lit of suspects. It said:

_**LIST OF SUSPECTS:**_

"You think _Logan_ stole my bandanna?" James snorted. "Anyone could steal a bandanna!", Katie reminded him earnestly. "How are we gonna get into Carlos's room?" Katie asked. James was surprised at how quick she was.

"Um…you know, form a plan?" James suggested. "Exactly", Katie agreed, as if she knew exactly what he was talking about. "Well, let's go", James said. "Carlos!!" he yelled.

"Will you be _quiet_????" Katie hissed. "Carlos is probably coming right now. Remember, look in his room. Under the bed, on his desk, in drawers, bins, you know. If you see a folder, or a locked box, or something suspicious, take it. When you're done, meet me back in my room. I'll distract Carlos. Go!" James's brain was spinning. He was trying to remember Katie's tips, but they were leaking out of his brain already.

They heard loud footsteps, and Carlos swung the door open. Katie gave James a furtive nod, signaling him to leave. Very nervously, James slipped past Carlos, trying to make no noise.

He tiptoed up to Carlos's room, and bolted inside He didn't care what he was looking for. Frantically, he dug through piles of stuff, finding tons of junk, and crumpled wrappers, and papers. Geez, this place was a mess.

He dove under Carlos's bed, and grabbed the nearest thing: An old school paper, which he quickly tossed it aside. Katie had better be buying him some time. He grabbed a box. It looked almost like a treasure chest. It was all taped up. Okay, that looked _too _secret. He glanced at the door. Carlos wasn't coming. He could hear Katie yelling something, but couldn't tell what. Okay, he was completely lost.

He turned around, and spotted the closet. He dove toward it, and tugged it open. Something fell on his head. It hurt, but the thought of being caught made him dig farther into the mess. Papers……moldy sandwiches ( he made a gagging noise.)…Socks…his eyes watered from the smell…broken glass…his hand touched the floor of the closet.

But then, he saw it. Wedged between a jacket, and a pile of plastic bags was…LUCKY!!!!!!!! James could barely contain his excitement as he pulled the bandanna out of the darkness…huh? This wasn't lucky! He opened it, as if he thought Lucky might be hiding inside. "I lost that yellow bandanna months ago", he muttered to himself. Even though the bandanna has been in Carlos's reeking closet, he still felt like he has to keep it. He stuck the bandanna in his pocket, and climbed out of the closet. He gave the room one last check, but found nothing.

He started sneaking back down the hall. He was going to open the box in front of Katie. After all, _he_ had found it. James was still a little ticked off that Katie could charm people, while he couldn't. Somehow, he sort of wanted to see the envious look on Katie's face.

He put on a calmer expression once he entered Katie's room. "What did you find", Katie asked eagerly. "A box", said James, heaving it onto her small table. The table creaked under its weight. James fumbled with the tape, taking nearly five minutes. "You know, it might help to use scissors", Katie said, sounding annoyed. "No, I got it", James assured her. He lifted up the cardboard lid of the box. James looked at it for a full fifteen seconds.

It was a helmet.

Katie let out an amused "Ha!" while James sheepishly closed the box. "Find anything else?" Katie inquired. "Just a bandanna which I lost months ago" James said. "Face it, Katie. Carlos is innocent."

"So who's room are we searching next?" James asked. "Logan's? He's doing math. He's smarter than Carlos. There's no way we can drive him out!" "Oh I know a way…" Katie said, giving James that sneaky little look.


	6. Chapter 6

"To get Logan to stop studying and stuff?" James laughed. "Fat chance." Katie put her hand up to her mouth, and yelled "CAMILLE! I NEED YOU!!!" "I thought she was one of your suspects!" James reminded her. "So" argued Ginny. "If mom started acting, we'd have to call the police." "What do you need me for?" asked Camille, as she entered the room.

"Okay, listen up" Katie said to her. "Lucky, James's bandanna is lost, and we know Carlos didn't steal it. So James has to go searching through Logan's room. But we need you to act like you're hurt, so Logan would come out in the hall, and James would have a chance to look for lucky.

"What would Logan need with a bandanna?" Camille asked. "We won't know until we find the thing, so let's MOVE" Katie said. They all snuck out into the hall. "Katie ran into Logan's room. James clenched his teeth. This was not going to work. "Logan!" Katie yelled, putting on her fake, but real looking panic face. "Camille's hurt! I don't know what's wrong with her!

Logan dropped his pencil. "What do you mean, she was fine before" he said as he followed Katie out of the room. "Uhhhhhh", moaned Camille. She dropped onto the floor, clutching her stomach. "Oh my, this is tragic" Katie observed. "Camille, what happened?" Logan said, grabbing her by her shoulders.

James, trying to run quietly, entered Logan's room. Hmm…. there was no real way to search a room neatly. So he tipped Logan's bed over, and looked under it. Then he quickly looked under the covers. Nothing. He searched Logan's drawers. Boring clothes… a dopey math award… CD's… James went over to the bookshelf. He carefully lifted a book off the shelf. It said, ADVENCED ALGEBRA. "Ahhhhhh!", screamed James. "I vowed to never read a math book again!" He picked up another book called the Golden Age of Athens.

That looked boring. He climbed onto the bookshelf. He knocked down a few novels, but was concentrating on getting to the top. There might be some extra space up there for Logan to store a bandanna. He climbed up two more shelves. His head was nearly touching the ceiling now. He had a one-second glimpse of the empty top shelf, when CRACK! "Oh, no" James muttered, because he knew exactly what was happening.

James started climbing down at top speed, but in his haste he slipped on a book, and went flying off the bookshelf. He put his hands in front of him to break his fall, but pain shot through him. He looked around. Great. He had landed in a pile of books. Then he felt a jolt in his stomach, remembering the bookshelf. Rubbing his arm painfully, he got up, and turned around. The bookshelf was damaged beyond repair. Many of the shelves had cracked.

Books were everywhere. And Katie and Camille couldn't hold Logan off forever. He should have known Logan would never take his bandanna. Now he felt guilty and stupid.

He reluctantly started putting the books back on what was left of the shelf. Then left. Did you get anything? Katie mouthed. James shook his head, in an accusatory way. He didn't walk back to Katie's room. He entered his room, and shut the door. Katie and Camille would have a lot of explaining to do. But with Camille's acting, and Katie's charm at the same time, they could pull it off.

So he took a nap. He woke up feeling warm and refreshed. The second he opened his eyes, he saw Katie standing right over him. Had she been waiting for him to wake up? James rolled over. "James, I know you're awake" Katie said, but James didn't hear, because Mrs. Schmidt was screaming, "Dinner! Dinner's ready!"

Gratefully, James shot up, and took the stairs two at a time. Then recoiled at the smell. "Did mom make that stinky cheese lasagna _again_, Kendall asked, annoyed.

"Hi guys!" Mrs. Schmidt grinned. "I made your favorite! Spinach pastries with candied squash for dessert!" "Wait till you get a load of those spinach pastries!" Katie whispered to James. "They taste horrid."

"They smell like what gets cleaned out of the bottom of a birdcage" Kendall remarked, behind his moms back. As they ate, Logan said, "Someone completely destroyed my bookshelf! Three of the shelves are cracked in half, and my book, The Golden age of Athens is damaged beyond repair!"

"Hey, I know Athens!" Katie piped up, wanting to change the subject. "It's the capital of Italy or France or whatever. "Athens is the capital of _Greece, _Katie" Logan told her. "And the Golden age of Athens is basically a term used to devote the historical period in Classical Greece lasting roughly from the end of the Persian wars-

James was trying to tune him out. He imagined singing without Lucky. But, just then, Carlos slouched into the room, looking annoyed. "Someone's been in my room" he accused. James tried to look innocent. "Yeah, well, whichever tosspot who did it doesn't confess soon, they'll feel the wrath of helmet. Katie has to stuff her fist in her mouth to keep from bursting out laughing.

"That's funny, my room was trashed too" Logan said to Carlos. They looked at James. "I didn't do that, I was in my room" James tried to insist. "I don't know who did it" Logan admitted. "Me and Katie were getting Camille medicine.

"We were" Katie added. "It's okay Logan" Camille assured him. "You're so cute when you're worried. "Um…. right, well anyway, I don't see where I can put up all my books" Logan said to the others. "Pity" Katie said, putting on a face full of fake sadness. "Who would be cruel enough to knock down someone's bookshelf, and trash their room" Katie sighed, wiping away a fake tear. "Okay, you don't have to rub it in" James muttered to Katie, who just smiled.

"Kendall, you don't seem to like this spinach!" Mrs. Schmidt retorted. "But don't worry. I have a special dish planned just for you, tomorrow!" "Oh no!" they all groaned.


	7. Chapter 7

Just as James got in bed, and was about to fall asleep, Katie shook his arm. "What?" yelled James, annoyed at Katie's never-ending plan to find his bandanna.

"No, but James, you have to come and see this!" insisted Katie. She held up a little device, so small, you could slip it in your pocket. "Oh, and I suppose this is another one of your crazy plans again" James scoffed. "No, it's reliable!" Katie insisted. "I just stole Carlos's drill, played around with it, added some wires, hollowed the inside out, and stuck one of your yellow bandannas in it. "Hey!" James protested, angrily.

"It's just that old one you found in Kendall's closet" Katie insisted. "Besides, you need to get some sleep! I'll use my machine. I call it the bandanna scanner. You just twist a button I crazy glued to the side, and it picks up any trace of bandannas. Its brain is hotwired to bandannas. Like yours!" "That's not funny" scowled James.

Katie left. James was happy, knowing he wasn't fully involved in another one of her plans, which would totally fail. James took his favorite bandanna after Lucky off the end table, and stared at it. It wouldn't give him enough points. This was not cool. He went to sleep.

James stirred sleepily and heard a crash. Kendall burst into the room, screaming, "CARLOS APPROACHD ME WITH A POWER TOOL!" Logan entered the room behind him, trying not to laugh at the expression on Kendall's face. "Here Carlos comes!" Kendall exclaimed. He dove under James's bed. Katie emerged from the darkness, holding her bandanna scanner. She looked tired, and annoyed. "It's just Katie" James said to Kendall. Kendal climbed out from under the bed. "Sorry, he muttered. He got into bed.

"Hey Logan" said James, as Logan got into bed. "If my looks give me 60 points, and my hair gives me 120 points, and this bandanna gives me only 19 points, how much would I have?" But Logan's deep breathing told James that he was already asleep. "You rate your bandannas, with a certain number of points" Kendall smirked.

"You'd have 199 points," replied Katie, counting on her fingers. James laughed. "Well, I guess Mr. Perfect couldn't answer that one for me" James said. "Oh, he's not always perfect" Katie announced. "I looked through his binders, and you know that A+ streak he was talking about? Well, he got one B. And he has a picture of Camille in his dresser drawer."

"Do you enjoy spying on people?" Kendall asked his sister. "Nah, I just get bored," Katie answered. James shook his head, and closed his eyes. If he wanted to sing well, he had to look good. And that required the right amount of sleep.

James woke up, and felt a sickening jolt in his stomach. He didn't realize why, until the thought of lucky popped into his head. He would never find him in time for the show. But James was going to try to be lucky without Lucky. Katie seemed pretty enthusiastic about this new change in plan. She stayed outside the door, when James took his shower, monitored him while he did his hair, and helped him choose the perfect outfit. She made sure he had a couple of bandannas in reserve, but James didn't listen to her. He hid all his bandannas in the fridge, under Mrs. Schmidt's leftover candied squash. No one would find them.

"Don't be nervous" Katie advised James. She kept talking to James. She talked to him when they were leaving, all down the hall, in the elevator, in the lobby, by the pool, and on the sidewalk.

"Well Katie, I really need to go now," James said. "I'll meet you at the concert place." "Okay" said Katie. "AND DON'T' FORGET TO SMILE!" Katie yelled through the closed van door. James closed the window, so he couldn't hear her, but felt as if he was imprisoning himself, as he did it.

"You feeling alright James?" Kendall asked. "Sure you can sing?" "Of course I can", grumbled James, taking this the wrong way.

James's stomach felt queasy on the ride to the concert place. But his sickness disappeared for a moment, as he saw where they were having the concert. It was a giant domed glass building, glowing from all the lights inside. "Wow! This is even better than the temple of helmets!" exclaimed Carlos. And that's just how cool the massive building was, if Carlos picked it over helmets.

The inside was amazing. It was like a giant sized movie theater, but in the front, the stage was completely lit up with different colors, a disco ball, and light coming from the _floor. _There were people everywhere. Swarming in and out between the seats.

Logan jumped back behind Kendall, amazed. "This is all just for us!" Kendall said disbelievingly. "Okay, how's my stage impression" Carlos said, turning to the other three, plus Katie, Camille, and Mrs. Schmidt. He pretended he was holding a fake microphone, and said "Hello people of the world! It's Carlos! This is my buddy Kendall! Say hello to Kendall everyone! So sorry if this is too hard for you to comprehend!"

"What's with the people of the world?" James snorted. "There are millions of people out there", Logan told Carlos. "You don't have to treat them like cavemen form the Paleolithic Era. "Huh?" said Carlos. "What's that?"

Logan made an impatient noise. "The Paleolithic Era" he said. "Is a prehistoric era distinguished by the development of the first stone tools- "Please stop", pleaded Carlos. James laughed. But his nerves rebounded just as quickly, as Mrs. Schmidt said, "Boys, I think you should get backstage now. It's almost time for the concert.

"Good luck Logie" Camille said, squeezing Logan's arm. "What are we, totem poles?" Kendall demanded, amused. James was not sure how his legs supported him, but he felt as if his legs were carrying him over to the room backstage, behind the curtain. It did not feel cool.

James felt surprised when he saw Gustavo in the back room, scarfing down a box of brownies. He always ate even more when he was nervous.

"Okay" Gustavo said, clapping his hands together. "If you dogs don't give me a good concert, you can become very unpopular, or you could be going back to Minnesota, state of the loser dogs. Now I want you to get out there, and show everyone you can be total geeky dingbats, or brainless doofbutts, but still sing good."

They all looked at him. "What?" Gustavo demanded. "Look, James," Kendall muttered. Just…don't freak out. Lucky isn't the only thing that makes you lucky." James gave him an evil look.

"Um, yeah, and now helmets can do the tango," James said as sarcastically as he could. Then, they heard a giant roar from the crowd, and James knew it was time for them to get onto the stage.


	8. Chapter 8

As James got on stage, the crowd made him sick. They were all standing up, cheering loudly. They didn't get it, did they? Good singing just didn't fall from the sky. He wished they would keep cheering forever, so he wouldn't get a chance to sing. But he had to. He'd go back to being a nothing, and no one would ever have a picture of him tacked on the wall! Outrageous! After about ten reminders to the audience to turn their phones off, the crowd were slowly quieting down.

But eventually, they quieted down, expectant. This was the climax of the concert. They were all expecting a good show. And they were gonna get one. He could do this.

So they started. Kendall had the lead first. James seemed like this was going way too slowly. He remembered their practice sessions, and tried to pretend no one was there. No suck luck.

Now Carlos was singing. James became uncomfortable about how close it was to his turn. He tried to wipe his face of expression, and listen to Carlos singing, "Leaning on each other's shoulders, then we turn around, then we tu- Carlos froze stupidly. There was music playing. But not to the song. It took James a few seconds to realize the music was a very loud ringtone, blaring out RING RING RING RING RING RING RING, BANANAPHONE!

Who hadn't shut their phone off? Everyone had been told to. But the music didn't sound like it was coming from the audience. Logan furtively glanced at Carlos, and then James understood that is was Carlos's phone. He whipped it out of his pocket. He started talking very quickly to the person on the other end, and then (this embarrassed James) Carlos jumped off the stage, landing loudly on the ground. He looked around, confused, then quickly jumped back onto the stage, and sprinted into the room backstage.

James was shocked, and annoyed. How was this going to continue? Carlos wasn't going to finish his part-so maybe he could! Encouraged, he took a deep breath, tried to put on a cool pose, and sang "Then we turn around, and see we've come so far somehow" and then he went into his part, which he had rehearsed so many times, he didn't need to pay mush attention, so he focused on a few of his better cool poses.

He could just picture Katie in the audience, arms crossed, smiling, and knowing James pulled it off without Lucky. He couldn't spot Katie in the audience, though.

Then, it was Logan's turn to sing, "So we take what comes, and we- but then Logan coughed, and looked like he was incapable of speech. He motioned to his neck.

Oh, great, James thought, exasperated. When he, James, had saved the show, and Logan just _happened _to lose his voice. But as Logan stumbled off the stage, James continued the song. He would not let that stop him. But as he went into his part again, he felt embarrassed, and wished for the first time in his life that no one noticed him.

Just as James was finishing his lines, and he and Kendall were supposed to sing together, Kendall doubled over. James felt a strong impulse to yell, OH COME ON at the top of his lungs. He needed this to end and make a good impression. But Kendall was clearly incapable of singing. As James caught a glimpse of him, his fear turned to anxiety. Kendall's eyes had a reed tinge to them, and his mouth was foaming. Did he have rabies? Kendall made a sound in the back of his throught, and clutched his stomach. He tried to run off, but made it look difficult, because, he was bent almost to the ground. He too, disappeared behind the curtain, as Carlos and Logan had.

James knew the crowd was watching him. They knew this was not the end of the song. But James could not get the words out. This was supposed to be where they sang together. He glanced at the audience, seeing their expectant faces. James swallowed with difficulty. He took a deep breath, and finished the last lines of the song, as calmly as he could manage.

As he finished, James said to the audience "I don't know what's going on with the other guys, but I thought I should finish the song, even if I don't have my lucky bandanna. The crowd was silent, most of them taking in what he had just said. A few of them were muttering stuff like "Lucky bandanna? What did he mean?"

James, embarrassed, left the stage. He didn't want to hear criticism. He made his way behind the curtain, and was about to enter the room backstage, when he heard Katie's voice: "Look, I don't know if you did the right thing, but, James, I don't know, he seems confident enough to finish the song."

Then he heard Logan say "This was all your idea!" James, suspicious, noted that Logan's voice was working fine, and he had said something was all Katie's idea. James knew Katie and her crazy ideas. So, entered the room, and said loudly "What was all Katie's idea?" Katie gasped, and turned around.

"N-nothing" she said, but the guilty look on her face told the truth.


	9. Chapter 9

"Look, James," Logan began. "Katie knew you lost your lucky bandanna, and she thought that if we" But James didn't let him finish. "Let me guess" James said. "You guys were making up excuses to leave the stage, but _why _would you need to?" They all looked at Katie.

Katie made a face. "I thought if the other guys left the stage, then, you would feel encouraged to finish the song, and if you did a good job, then the audience would like you, and you wouldn't need Lucky anymore."

Katie cowered as James scowled at her. "Do you know how many things Lucky has got me through?" James demanded. "Everything! He's always helped me!"

"James, he's a bandanna" Logan insisted. "You have talent. It isn't Lucky doing all the work. Why would you ever need to worry, or practice anything, if you always know Lucky's going to get you through it?"

Since James couldn't think of an answer to that, he retorted, "Well, who were the sneaks that pretended they needed to get off the stage?"

"We thought Katie's plan would work" Carlos said. "It's not exactly hard to pretend you lost your voice" Logan added.

"And what did Kendall do to fool me?" James wondered. "Toothpaste and red contacts" Kendall replied, pointing to the toothpaste tube lying on the table. James felt insulted that he ever fell for that. "And I suppose Katie called you so your phone would ring in the middle of the show" James said to Carlos, who nodded guiltily.

Katie was holding her phone, and making those cute puppy dog eyes. _I should forgive her_, he thought. _She would never do something like this. _

"Okay, stop with the eyes, because they're not getting you out of anything this time" James scolded. "James, do you want to know the truth?" Katie asked wearily. She pulled a purple and white bandanna out of her pocket, and deliberately held it out.

It took James a moment to realize what this meant. But then he knew.

"You had my bandanna this whole time!" James exclaimed. Logan and Kendall covered their ears, prepared for James's shouting match with Katie. And the shouting match started.

"YOU MADE A LIST OF SUSPECTS!"

"I WAS TRYING TO GET YOU TO REALISE THAT LUCKY WAS NOWHERE, AND EXCEPT THE FACT THAT YOUR PRECIOUS BANDANNA IS GONE!"

"HOW DARE YOU DO THAT TO LUCKY! AND YOU MADE ME DIG THROUGH CARLOS'S GROSS CLOSET, AND CLIMB ONTO LOGAN'S BOOKSHELF! YOU EVEN WENT THROUGH THE TROUBLE TO MAKE YOU DUMB BANDANNA SCANNER!"

"NO! I TOOK MOM'S CREDIT CARD AND BOUGHT IT ON E-BAY! I GOT CARLOS TO HOLLOW IT OUT! AND I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU THOUGHT THE BANDANNA SCANNER WAS REAL!

"What do you mean, she made you dig through my closet?" Carlos asked, the same time Logan asked, "What do you mean she made you climb onto my bookshelf?"

James regarded both of them wearily. "Ask Katie" he said to them. "And she was going to have everyone's room searched if she didn't pretend she had a bandanna scanner. That little sneak knew she had Lucky all along."

"How did you sing without us?" Carlos asked, as if afraid James would start yelling again. "I finished the song" James replied, choosing not to explain any details. "And…what did the audience say?" Kendall inquired. "I don't know" James said, truthfully. "I told them that I lost my bandanna, and that I wanted to finish the song, then left. And now I'll never have a lollipop with my awesome face on the wrapper."

"Who cares", said Logan. "Gustavo's gonna scream so loud, he'll cause an avalanche." They all groaned. They all had to endure Gustavo's anger management problems.

"No he's not", Kendall announced. "Or if he does, we won't care." They all shot him skeptical looks. "Look" Kendall tried to explain. "Are we gonna let that ball of dough tell us what's good, and what's not?"

"Yes" James Carlos and Logan said, simultaneously. "No, because that's all we've ever done" said Kendall. "James is a good singer, and I'm willing to bet that James sang good tonight, no matter what Gustavo says."

"You are? Money up here" Katie said to her brother. "Listen" Kendall insisted. "Carlos, Gustavo's never treated you right. Remember when he made you be his personal assistant?" Carlos flinched. "And" said Kendall. "He made you _and _me pretend to like Mercedes, so she would pick out demos." "I will never stop wondering why she picked all three of you over me _even though _she never dates anyone prettier than me." James announced.

"That's not the point," Kendall said. "Well…I know" Carlos admitted uncomfortably. "And he made Logan cry, remember?" Kendall continued. "That was three moths ago," said Logan. "No one can prove I did that." "But he sat on you!" Kendall said. "And he thinks James is the most annoying person to walk the face of the earth. Remember what he did to James's headshots?"

"STOP!" yelled James. "Don't EVER bring that up!" "Kendall has a point," Logan said. "So we're going to walk out into the crowd, and take any criticism they have to offer us," Kendall said. "Right?"

"Sure" they all muttered, and reluctantly followed Kendall onto the stage. But before James closed the door, he looked back, and saw Katie mouthing "Good luck!"


	10. Chapter 10

They hid behind the curtains. James took a deep breath. Then said "Lucky brings me luck. Seriously. Lucky is always with me." "He's not with you now, you left him on the table in the back room." Logan told him. James elbowed Logan. All four boys emerged from the curtains. The crowd was chatting wildly, and all their voices echoed around the room.

"Just stay calm" Kendall said. "Don't panic. Just act natural." James made sure he was on the stage first. He walked out to where his microphone was. Carlos was extremely twitchy. He was twisting his fingers together, and jumping around like he had to go to the bathroom.

"Will you stop jumping" Logan grumbled. "People will think you took a five hour energy, _again._" Then, someone in the crowd hollered, "Look! They're back on the stage!" There was a moment of complete silence. Then the crowd burst into talk. James cleared his throught, almost nonchalantly, so Kendall looked around at him. James jerked his head toward the microphones.

It took a moment for Kendall to interpret, but then, he cleared his throught, and mouthed to Katie, _we need music. _Some people in the crowd had seen. All confused, they craned their necks around, trying to see whom Kendall was mouthing to. There was a very tense silence between the four of them.

Katie came to the rescue. The music was blaring. People were muttering to each other, eyes narrowed. Kendall had no time to lose. He came in, singing, "When the chips are down, back against the wall…" James knew this was his chance to sing. Maybe Katie was right. Did he need Lucky anymore? James pinched himself on the arm. Of course he needed Lucky! Katie was medium right.

But now he had to sing. As James sang, he tried to just zone out, make a picture of Lucky appear in front of his eyes. It worked. He sang with even more energy, getting into the part, doing cool poses, and grinning. He was slowly coming back to himself during this concert. He grinned at each audience member in turn, making sure everyone got a flash of his smile. The audience was starting to sit down now.

As Logan sang, James bopped his head to the music. He didn't even need to think about what he was doing. Steam poured out from some device on the stage. Somehow James could picture Katie in the control room, making the steam, controlling the volume of the music, the lights… When it was James's turn to sing again, he knew he nailed it. And he noticed the audience, immersed in the song, swaying to the music, some of them dancing, all were definitely excited.

When they were on the second to last line of the music, James saw a purple blur flying at him, out of the corner of his eye. James was confused for only half a second, and caught Lucky, just as they had finished the song. He looked to the right, trying to make out the person who had thrown the bandanna. Katie. She was standing just outside the control room. She gave James the slightest nod. Then, the crowd went crazy. They were on their feet, clapping, whistling, jumping.

James, happy, took a huge bow. The crowd loved him! After about a half hour of bowing, the boys left the stage. James was totally confident. He had done the song! Almost all of it without Lucky! How could it be? Well, he probably did well, because he was thinking about Lucky as he sang. "Ohhh…that was agony, my back bowed too much!" Carlos complained.

Katie ran up to them. She exclaimed, "You guys were the bomb!" jumping up, and punching the air. She hi fived all of them, and them gave them all hugs. James hesitated only a moment before hugging Katie back.

The met Gustavo in the back of the auditorium. Gustavo looked at them for a full fifteen seconds. Then yelled over the crowd, "Impressive! Very impressive! But Kendall was a little flat. Logan, remember to tuck your arms in when you jump. We went over that. And Carlos, someday that helmet needs to go.

"Um…thanks," said Kendall.

"I can't believe Gustavo has any comments about our performance, this time," Kendall said scornfully. "Actually, that's probably the nicest thing Gustavo's ever said about you!" Mrs. Schmidt remarked.

As they all got into bed that night, James has to say "So was I good?" "You were remarkably superb with the choreography, and the acoustics," Logan said.

"Okay, repeat again, in English" James said. "You were the best one!" said Carlos, sounding a little envious. James smiled proudly. "Well, not to bother you guys, but it was kinda obvious I was the best," said James haughtily.

"You can tell James's happy again, if he's gloating again" Kendall sighed.

"See?" said Logan to James. "I told you could do it without Lucky!" James hit him over the head with a pillow.


	11. Chapter 11

_**BACK AT THE PALM WOODS**_

"Okay" Katie announced. "I set up a race around the Palm Woods. You'll have to jump over hurdles at one point. I set up some minor obstacles for you, to make it a little more challenging. Kendall, James, Carlos and Logan are going head to head to head to head."

"Define minor obstacles" Logan said. "Shush" Katie said. "Anyway, whoever gets to the finish line first wins. I set up tracks, so you'll know where to go."

"When did you set this all up?" Kendall demanded. Katie chose not to answer that. Possibly because Mrs. Schmidt, Camille, and Jo had all came to watch, and were not too far away from them.

"And whoever wins gets this!" Katie said impressively. She held up a large gold trophy that said **1****ST**** PLACE** on it. "Did you make it?" James inquired. Katie nodded. Possibly she was still guilty about taking Lucky, and lying to James. "Yeah, Mr. Bitters helped me make it" Katie replied. "We took some metal, melted it, let it cool, painted it…oh, and we shined it with a polishing cloth. And we painted the 1st place on it."

"Mr. Bitters helped you melt metal?" Kendall asked, appalled. "How did you get him to? He hates you!" Katie shrugged. "Did you bribe him with an ice cream cone again?" Kendall asked her. "Let's start the race!" Carlos cried, impatiently.

"Okay" Katie announced, clapping her hands. "And remember, the loser has to buy the other three smoothies! Everyone, feet on the finish line! Ready, set...go!"

All four of them took off, across the lawn. When they reached the pool, there were pool noodles arranged next to each other. Logan, who was the only one who had listened to Katie, jumped over the pool noodles, like they were hurdles. James quickly caught on, and jumped over them, too. Kendall was too late. A rope connected to the inside of the pool noodle flew out from under him, and Kendall got pitched into the water.

"YOU OWE US THREE SMOOTHIES!" Carlos yelled at Kendall over his shoulder, as Jo ran to help Kendall. "Katie!" Mrs. Schmidt said, reproachfully. "Is that a very nice thing to do to your brother?" Katie was pretending to be highly interested in the bug zooming around, and didn't answer.

"Here comes obstacle number two" Katie murmured sneakily, when her mother's back was turned. Apparently, Katie had placed a giant bush on the tracks. While James and Logan sped off the tracks, swerved around the bush, and continued running, Carlos ran right into the bush. "! ARGHH!" Carlos was screaming. His arm poked out of the bush for a fraction of a second, then was quickly whipped back in.

"Okay, I have to admit, that pool noodle thing was pretty impressive" Kendall remarked, leaning on the side of the pool to watch Carlos yelling prayers, having to do with helmets. Meanwhile, James and Logan were still sprinting up the track.

"They're neck and neck!" Mrs. Schmidt exclaimed. "It's going to be a tie!"

"Yes" said Katie. "If they survive the attack of the sprinklers!" Camille and Mrs. Schmidt both looked at each other. "The attack of the…" Camille started to say, but there was a big whoosh of water, and the sprinklers burst to life, knocking Logan backwards. James dodged the spray of water, and leapt over the only sprinkler that hadn't been activated yet.

"How…what?" Mrs. Schmidt said, speechless. Katie didn't answer. She was rolling around on the ground, pounding her fists on the grass. James ran the remainder of the track, and crossed the finish line. Katie let out a cheer, and ran over to James, clutching the trophy, and thrust it into his arms.

"I got Mr. Bitters to turn on the sprinklers", Katie announced. Carlos scrambled out of the bushes, and fell flat on the ground. He was covered in sharp pine needles. "Are you okay?" Mrs. Schmidt asked him. "Never…" moaned Carlos, rolling over. "Never again…"

"So…" said Katie. "Logan, if the smoothies cost $1:40 each, how much would three cost?" "4:20, AND CAN YOU TURN THESE THINGS OFF?" Logan yelled, who was being attacked by two sprinklers at once.

Katie gave Mr. Bitters a signal, which must of meant to turn the sprinklers off, because they did.

"Woo hoo!" James yelled triumphantly. "I WON! I KNEW IT!" Kendall sheepishly climbed out of the pool. Mrs. Schmidt frowned. Katie did a giggle. "I knew Carlos would get caught in the bush. Some of this you need to use your brain for, too!" "Well. I did" James bragged.

"You were just following me, I was the one who listened to Katie" said Logan. "Yeah, but you had to suffer the killer sprinklers!" James fired up, at once. "It's okay Logan, I can dry you off" Camille said. "Uh…no, that's okay," said Logan, nervously twisting away from her, and nearly falling on top of James. "Watch it, you're gonna ruin my brand new trophy!" James cried.

Carlos got up unsteadily, and staggered over to the others. "You can dry me off" Kendall joked. Camille chucked a towel at him.

"So" said James. "I just remembered we have an autograph signing tomorrow!"

"Has anyone seen my helmet?" said Carlos, scratching his head. "After the concert, I left it in on my bed!" "No" they all said together. "Oh no!" Carlos burst out. "You know how I am without helmet! I can't do an autograph signing without him! He brings me luck!"

Everyone assured him they had not taken his helmet. But as they started to walk inside, James saw Katie, writing in a spiral notebook. She ripped the paper out she had been writing on, and called, "Carlos! You lost your helmet, eh? Well, we're sure to find it! Don't worry I have a list of suspects! I even have a helmet scanner!" James shook his head. That kid was too much.


End file.
